Pre-Thanksgiving Gardening, Puttering, Pet, etc. Thread

Hi, everybody! Since Ace posted today(!) and Misanthropic Humanitarian has a little time off, we have sort of a combo Home, Garden and Pet thread today. Hope you have some fun with it.

Hi KT, still got a couple things blooming here in East Texas. One is a big Brugmansia, one of which you featured a week or two ago. the other is
a Passion vine I planted this spring which is still blooming - I liked this shot
because of the little yellow lady bug (or something) that's on the flower.

always love your thread! - Tom Servo

That flower is so dramatic. Anybody know if that is a ladybug or something else?

And this plant is dramatic:

Pets

We miss Misanthropic Humanitarian. Hope he's having a good time. While he's gone, a couple of my pets through the years, in case you have any pet thoughts to share today. Our own pets have managed not to get painted during a house painting project.

This was our Lucky. We think he was kicked out of his original home for chewing clothes or from some other form of destructiveness. He was hiding flat on the ground, among the weeds, when we coaxed him out with dog biscuits. His gums on his top front teeth were over-grown. But once they were cut back, they were fine.

He was a happy dog. Tore up pajama bottoms, towels and sheets. Good jumper. But very happy.

Here are two of our Garden Kitties, Panda Boy and Mac. They are with a big savoy cabbage (they love to drink water from the leaves) and a broccoli gone to flower.

Mac once went for a ride through town on the top of the van. We had to coax his little claws from the luggage carrier. We still have Panda Boy. He is not sure if he likes people or not. He is likely to climb your leg somewhat roughly.

Travel and Music

1400 year old ginko tree

There are more photos, plus more information, at the link above, as well as at this one:

A 1,400-year-old ginkgo tree in China has recently drawn thousands of people from all over the country. Golden leaves have been falling on the ground since mid-November, turning the temple's ground into a yellow ocean. The ancient tree grows next to the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in the Zhongnan Mountains and is a perfect celebration of autumn.

The ginkgo tree, also known as the maidenhair, is sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because, despite all the drastic climate changes, it has remained unchanged for more than 200 million years. It is a living link to the times when the dinosaurs ruled the earth.

On second thought, maybe I will not be going to China. I'll stick to the photos. Maybe someone would like to go to Colonial Williamsburg, though. They are having their Come, Ye Thankful People Come program of tunes, poems, and readings from several centuries related to harvest time and Thanksgiving.

Wonder if they will be doing this one:

"All the world is God's own field . . . Unto joy or sorrow sown"

At Williamsburg, you can also sign up to learn how to make a Holiday Decoration in a Mug.

A couple more photos from the Wintherthur gardens, by groovy girl:

An overview of one of the meadows. There are many tree species as Mr. Dupont particularly enjoyed incorporating trees into the garden. In his day the garden was larger (much of the acreage was sold to an adjacent golf club IIRC).

The prospect is reminiscent of British gardens designed by Capability Brown I think, though I am not sure that was the inspiration.

Stunning.

These lace cap hydrangeas are still stunning in late September. IIRC these are along one of the Enchanted garden paths that receives filtered sunlight.

Looks like a good place to spend some quiet time.

Edible Gardening

Got some things put by for Thanksgiving Week?

Speaking of Harvest Home, some things from By-Tor:

Finding hard green tomatoes for sale is like finding a rainbow unicorn. These have to be canned quick, because once they start to pink, they can't be fried or canned. I wound up getting 10 pints for about $3 of tomatoes. Water bath canning for 6 minutes in a brine of 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid powder. Plus one fresh one set aside for my lunch.

40 lbs of tomatoes yielded 13 pints and 6 quarts of marinara sauce. I have the process down now so it's pretty easy. I used vine ripened tomatoes which are flavorful but have more water. 30 minute pressure can in my Presto Electric canner.

And that's not all he's done.

Puttering

Got any puttering plans for the coming week? Done any puttering? Any puttering adventures or misadventures to share?

My brother's puttering:

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

Include the nic by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ,
unless you want to remain a lurker.

posted by K.T. at 02:42 PM

| Access Comments